Severn Trent Water - Disgrace

horti1

I have recently moved house and read my water bill for a final reading which was submitted to water board. I had been paying by direct debit £19.64 for about 4 years and was always in credit, in december 2014 i recieved my 6 monthly bill an actual reding by severn trent { so they said ? } To my disbeleif the bill was £295 75 in debit and my direct debit increased to £63.97 monthly which i paid until leaving in late February.When i read the meter for the final reading i found the meter covered in approximately 4 inches of dirt { meter is in the driveway} it was obvious that the meter had not been read for a long time. I recieved my final bill saying i owed £387.94 then i recieved another final bill for £365.38 then another for £ 316.73 ?? I recieved a phone call from severn trent on thee 13th march saying that i was £105.35 in credit and that they had not readmy meter in December 2014 and had lied about the reading . I have now recieved my credit 7 days later but is it worth coomplaining to them or ofwat as this issue has caused a great deal of stress.

Cardew

They don't say they 'lied' about the reading - they 'estimate'. That is denoted on your bill by an 'E'.


If you paid £19.64 monthly for 4 years it is not surprising that you were in debt as prices increased a great deal over that period.


Also Severn Trent have a lot of remote reading meters(I have one) - the meter reader doesn't need to actually look at the meter.


I suspect, if you complain, they will say you should have checked the bills and corrected any estimated readings.


In any case you have to complain initially to Severn Trent. As you ask, no! I don't think there is much point in complaining as it appears you haven't read your meter either.